A Very Lively Part Of Our Lives
On October 27, 2009, Gayle Broadbent-Ferris passed away after an accident near her home. On this blog, we knew her as OlympiaGal. Her sister wrote this to me: “Gayle was such a lively writer, we all loved to get any letters or emails from her. I am glad that you also got to experience her wit and humor. I apologize for such a belated notice, when she passed we didn’t know all her contacts and associations to apprise them of her death. We miss her, but are grateful for her being a VERY lively part of our lives.”
She also suggested any donations be given to this group, which Gayle loved.
My fears are confirmed…Dang it…
So very very sad. Rest in peace Oly.
http://www.theolympian.com/deaths/story/1022336.html
That’s just awful.
I was hoping that she might got married or even had a new job and was busy. I miss her good natured joking and teasing. Always figured she’d pop back in here again.
Olygal was always light hearted and fun. I’m sorry that we’ll never have a chance to meet her.
She was and will be always missed around here.
So sad.
Thanks for letting us know Ben.
So very, very sorry to hear this. RIP
Maybe Ben can compose a “best of” postings from her.
Many here know her name.. but don’t know her posts.
I knew her posts, but not her name! It’s nice to know someone who respects creation enough to take spiders outside. That says a lot right there.
Wow, so sad. Life is fragile.
Oh no. This is terrible news.
So sorry to hear this.
I looked forward to reading her posts. She had a great sense of humor. She will be missed =(
That’s awful, terrible news.
So sorry to hear this.
For some moments in life there are no words.
This is heart breaking. I always enjoyed reading her posts.
The only light in this sad news is that she LIVED instead of simply existed.
Thank you Ben, for providing the information regarding the Capital Land Trust. Somehow it helps to be able to donate to her cause. And her family will know how we loved her writings.
Wow. Not what I expected. Shocked and sorry.
Same here. Oh god, it’s every message board’s greatest fear.
God bless her soul.
Energetic and very imaginative. Always thinking outside the box.
Condolences to her family…
Very sad. Among all the posters here whom I never met, I always felt a most personal connection to her. She was so genuine, and had such a fun personality, it leaped right out of her every silly and irreverent post.
We will always miss you and remember you, OlyGal.
Prof B., you always nail it.
Yes he does, I felt the same way about her. She will be missed.
It saddens me deeply to hear this terrible news. May we all take comfort in knowing that the HBB community has its very own angel watching over us.
Link to Olygal’s obituary…
http://www.funeralalternatives.org/keepsake.asp?GBObitKey=1642&ObitKey=1642
Kim…Thank you so much for posting this….
Yeah me too.. she looks much younger than I imagine. How sad.
Funny you should say that, cougar…
I always pictured her as a tomboy-ish lass of thirteen or fourteen, with a shaggy mop of blonde hair (with a bit of moss, clover, or somesuch in it), and an impish grin; come to think of it, the grin always looked a lot like the real picture of her—just a bit more mischievious. Generally in my minds-eye, she was crawling through the grass examining a creepy-crawler of some sort…
Alas, Oly, I will more your voice sorely.
more—>>>miss
I always pictured her as sort of a blonde ” Anne of Green Gables”.
Many Thankxs Kim…
“Gayle loved all small brave creatures. She taught us to take spiders outside rather than step on them…”
Just as I imagined her…
Now I’m in the habit of always typing: “Utarrr”
She was as beautiful as I imagined….
Step: Yeah… It is funny isn’t it? Hot ain’t hot no more, and good is hot. Comes with age, surprised you noticed so early. I think growing up was the best thing that ever happened to me. I didn’t care what Oly looked like, she was beautiful to me anyway.
R.I.P. I will miss Oly’s posts, which could be described as incisive, articulate, woodsy, quirky, snarky, and feminine, sometimes all at the same time. She was a very lively part of this blog too.
Wow this is a sad way to start the day.
Oly kept the balance level here.
Every Blog needs a “garbage disposal”
OlyGal: The “TruthSlayer!”
Damn, that didn’t come out right…Help!
“Oly kept the balance level here.”
DD…So true and in a wonderful way.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/theolympian/obituary.aspx?n=gayle-broadbent-ferris&pid=135380906
A real shock. Makes a lot of other things seem insignificant.
Doesn’t it though?
OK, I’m observing a day of HBB silence today. Over and out.
Ain’t that the truth. I fell in love with her words.
Funny how things sometimes just come out of no where…who’d thunk this story would emerge from a State of State speech in South Carolina just last week:
At least he told a good tale…
“…Ric did the mental calculation and figured he would be dying in about 40 to 45 seconds and his whole life went rolling by. He said though he had previously had the natural fears of death, he was not afraid of death as it was so near. What he did think about was the time he had wasted – the time he had spent arguing about petty things, about things that didn’t matter with people who did, the times he had let little things get to him. He said it was the most amazing process of letting go of all these things in those 45 seconds. In essence, he died to himself and to those previous aggravations in the short window of time that he had left on earth.”
Holy cripes, I had a feeling…
I’ll miss her more than any other person that I’ve never met face-to-face. Her ‘voice’ is still in my head because her old posts often come to mind.
(I hoist an apricot ale to you Oly, wherever you are.)
Yes, I can “hear” her still too.
So sad.
I had the same feeling too alph…
Well stated re: her voice.
Wow, what amazingly unfortunate news. I quite enjoyed her posts. Quite a light she was. My condolences to her family.
Olygal, Godspeed.
I suppose in 6 years of a blog there will be deaths. It’s sad. Best to her family.
Jiminy creeps…..
So young. God bless her family. Rest in peace Oly.
Such a tragedy. I’ll miss her terribly as I’m sure all of us will here on HBB. She always brightened the day with her wit and charm.
I have misty eyed visions of a wood nymph dancing through the woods, singing to the frogs and friends,
gathering ferns and mushrooms along the way.
We miss her dearly.
Yeah…for sure Rancher
You nailed it Rancher- that’s exactly how I pictured her- and the world is poorer for the loss, but I am richer, having had the chance to bask in the glow of her irreverent posts- Godspeed, Oly!!!
This is indeed a sad day. Good that Ben was able to get in touch with her sister (or vice versa) to let the family know about this community in which she played a part. Hopefully they’ll be able to read this and know she is missed here too.
I’m saddened and shocked by her death. Olygal was a mainstay of humor, sarcasm, and truth in this blog and the wider world.
Never again will we read her witty, ironic, sarcastic posts that reveal the core truth.
My deepest condolences to her family and friends wherever they are.
Roidy
RIP Olygal.
Thank you Kim for the link. I am heartbroken. My condolences to her family, friends, and all my HBB friends.
Wow, terribly sad. You are missed, Olygal.
I will always think of her when “geoduck” is mentioned. As silly as that is.
Me, too. I’d never even heard of them before she brought them up.
Same here.
What’s really sad is that she will never write the book (about her life) that many of us wanted her to write. She was the light of this blog, and she will be sorely missed.
I am devastated by this depressing news.
Dang, Oly, I miss you! Oh, those posts of yours. I swear, girl, some of them made me laugh so hard that my computer monitor and keyboard got the brunt of it.
Rest in peace, Oly!
Oly had a very special place in my life.
An inspiration when my words had settled in dark places, a fount of exuberance in a world of dour sourpusses, she reminded me that even in a time of horrific aftermath, there was cause for celebration. Always.
Woman made me laugh out loud, smile in recognition, cheer her powers of deflection and often just STFU. Mostly that.
She was light, and gay, and always Sweetness here–even as she excoriated our obtuseness and small-hearted ranting. I don’t know why she even bothered with us, we mostly didn’t deserve her. But she did, and I know she was the light that kept some of us going through times of unimaginable sadness and travail. Our Blithe Spirit, our Olympia Girl.
I’ll see you soon enough, LadyChild, and we’ll hunt morels and watch the pretty frogs together — down on our elbows, giggling, in the cosmic mud.
Damn. Just, damn.
Be Free.
Ahansen, you really know how to put it into words.
Miss her so much.
“She was light, and gay, and always Sweetness here–even as she excoriated our obtuseness and small-hearted ranting. I don’t know why she even bothered with us, we mostly didn’t deserve her. But she did, and I know she was the light that kept some of us going through times of unimaginable sadness and travail. Our Blithe Spirit, our Olympia Girl.”
Maybe she was trying to teach some of us to be better human beings.
I just wish that she could have stuck around and worked on me a little longer.
“Maybe she was trying to teach some of us to be better human beings.
I just wish that she could have stuck around and worked on me a little longer.”
Mikey I’m gonna kick yer a$$ if I ever have the good fortune to meet you in person!
(Well, I’m gonna TRY to kick yer a$$, it didn’t work with my “lil” brother either, he just picked me up and body slammed me to the parking lot…”whad ya say you were going to do bro?”)
But willing to admit defeat, i’ll do the same for you as I did for him: “(deep moaning) Geez, come on… at least let me buy you a drink”
Sheesh Hwy
Thanks so much for the offer, I’d be proud to have a few beers with you.
Olygal was going to take me for a beer in the greatest little dive bar in Washington if I ever got out that way. I almost made it when my son was working for Ameri-Corp out her way in the PNW.
He’s heading out to Alaska as supervisor to work with them and the US Forest Service next week. He’s an environmental/civil engineer and a real tree hugger like Oly.
She’d have loved to meet that kid.(He was into saving frogs as a child)
She also said she wanted so much to have met our teriffic people but missed the Vegas get together. I guess this reminds us that we better do things today because tomorrows might not be there for us.
If I ever make it near you, we’ll tip a few to the gentle lady.
Stay in touch.
mikey
“…If I ever make it near you, we’ll tip a few to the gentle lady.”
OK mikey, let’s skip the parking lot scenario…I’m too old for that cr@p anyways…but there’s a real element of truth in this:
80% of life…is just showing up.
I couldn’t STFU because she so often made me laugh out loud- so many here I would miss were something tragic to happen to them- Alana- you are now # 1- Faaaawk this sucks-
Hugs, Sweetie.
OMG, I can’t believe it. This is terrible. I guess we’re lucky to at least know what happened.
Premature death is creepy…
…”grotesque” is the word I was looking for…
We emailed each other a few times last year, and I really appreciated her positive outlook, her interesting life story and unique sense of humor. We were going to get together at one of her favorite restaurants in Olympia and pretend it was an HBB meet for the Pacific NW (I had to be convinced that Olympia had any restaurants worthy of a “foodie” like me). But then I got busy and had to beg off the meeting and the blog for a long while. Yadda Yadda Yadda. We never did chat again.
I had actually hoped to see her online when I started posting again, and was planning to email her next time I was in the Puget Sound area (it has been well over a year now)…so obviously I feel like a complete ass. The same thing happened with my father: I let my job get in the way of spending time with another interesting person in my life. Strike two for my smothering career choice, I guess.
I will miss you Oly/Gayle/Gabriel (her pet name for herself). I really will come to Olympia to watch the Precession of the Species parade in your honor this spring. I know you really wanted me to see that.
Good post ahansen, she did the same to me. I don’t know… for some reason I had trepidation and concern. Where was Oly? This is really hard.
I know you loved her, ATE.
I think in a way you gave her strength, too. Now she is free.
You are a kind and thoughtful lady ahansen.
Oly is free now.
I have typed about 5 different repsones, and then erased them. I don’t even know what to say.
Same here. I just know that every time I start, my eyes get all wet and out of focus. I simply do not have the words. She will be missed.
She gave us the gift of herself ,and it was a wonderful gift that I will miss
forever . She blessed this blog and I recall chuckling so often at her posts .
Oly had so much talent in so many ways and what a beautiful soul .Darn,Im crying like a baby .
“She blessed this blog”
Thanks Wizard, being I don’t know how to type, typing with tears doesn’t help any.
“Oly had so much talent in so many ways and what a beautiful soul”
Geez, it’s always the silly lil’ things ain’t it?
http://www.skyglass.com/gayle/gayle.html
Mr. Orange Head!
“I made this paper doll from a candy box I got at the fabulous Macey’s Supermarket in Spanish Fork, Utah. I had never had this candy before, but immediately adored it, and eagerly ate the whole rattling tasty boxful in the car on the way home. I didn’t share. Wow! Thanks, Ferrara Pan Candy Co! Of Forest Park, Illinois! That’s yummy!
I also used recycled envelopes to make Mr. Orange Heads natty clothes.”
“The Evil Doormat” is freakin hillarious!
The “Gayle” doll is of course, funny too.
http://www.skyglass.com/gayle/gaylepaperdoll.htm
And here’s the Evil Link:
http://www.skyglass.com/evildoormat.htm
OMG, I’m so bummed.
Oly was such a life-spring—an inimitable, indomitable spirit.
The world now seems all grey and monochrome.
“The world now seems all grey and monochrome.”
There is that one light, darkened, that we notice now in the candelabra of life. OlyGal is it.
Somewhere and somehow, I’d like her to know I will always think of her when I hear music with the words below:
Have you seen her all in gold
Like a queen in days of old
She shoots colors all around
Like a sunset going down
Have you seen the lady fair?
She comes in colors everywhere;
She combs her hair
She’s like a rainbow
Coming colors in the air
Oh, everywhere
She comes in colors…
A nice choice.
I’d like to think she whistled that song in the garden now and again.
blue: I think you picked a good song.
cobalt,
Thank you for posting this. A perfect song for this special gal. Dang, I’m starting to cry.
I’ve stopped in a local library to check email and catch up on HBB. A few minutes ago, people around me heard me gasp and say (pretty loudly, I’m afraid) oh god, no. No. Right now they are seeing me adjusting my glasses, trying to hide the fact that I have burst into tears. These lyrics are responsible for the tears part.
This is very unexpected and sad. My thoughts and prayers go out to Olygal’s family. They must miss her dreadfully and how difficult their holidays must have been.
Gayle Broadbent-Ferris
May your son`s and husband be comforted by the memories of a special person who brought happiness to many, as you watch over them and until you meet again.
*sugh* And the world grows dimmer as another bright light is extinquished.
Why do the good ones go young and the evil ones last forever?
No justice… none at all…
We’ll all miss you, Oly…
I thinking what your saying Pondering the mess . No Justice …why her?
Not to get religious on you, but they say God picks the most beautiful flowers….
I think in this case, he did…
Spiritual!
She is doing well where she is, but I really miss her.
“Yeah Mr Man, up on your roof putting up your lights and decorations in the moonlight, dodging the bats” or something to that effect.
Hey Olygal, keep watching over me cause when I flip the switch this year, you can see me and those lights clean past the space station and on into the heavens girl.
Peace and Hugs Gabriel.
Love mikey
I remember once… (and I wrote this just make Oly mad cause I knew she was online)…
I said, ” I said it before, and I’ll say it again!…
Women + automobiles = entropy”.
Well, Oly Gal says… “I said it before and I’ll say it again! You keep that sassy attitude out of here Mr. Smarty Pants”, and there was much more to it than that before she was finished!
It feels like something took another piece out of my soul, when I thought there were no more pieces left to take.
Oly just made me laugh again.
“Mr Smarty Pants”- and she just made me cry again…
That is just terrible.
I hate news like that. Real bummer, always enjoyed her posts.
In the long run we’re all dead.
“In the long run we’re all dead.”
I never thought I’d see the day when someone beats Mr. Bear for the “Eeyore Award” of the week on a Wednesday with just 7 little words! But, Mike in Miami, you just did it, Cheers! (Hwy gulps another taste of red red wine)
O.K., that’s it! (Hwy’s switched to “A Fourth Day”)
To our Oly Gal: The “TruthSlayer!
Hip Hip Hooray!
Hip Hip Hooray!
Hip Hip Hooray!
Utarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
So, I pickup Mr.Cole from school today..he got three “awards”…(a stunning record I might add)…I told him about OlyGal & my attached sadness, nothing reflected from my demeanor upon his amazing accomplishment…so he say’s: “Dad, …sounds like she had a BIG heart!” …thus are dedicated the titles of his “awards”:
1. “One of the Best!”
2. “One in a Million”
3. “Someone Special”
Amazing how smart the little ones really are, isn’t it?
Olygal was a truly wonderful, bright, and unique soul, and we are truly blessed she crossed our paths. Her sense of humor, and genuine love of life was so graciously expressed in her talented writing. Olygal, where ever you are, we will always remember you. OMG, this is just so sad.
I think now is the time to say (for me), I think a lot of you guys and girls on here. Bunch a smart people (not me) with open hearts.
Only a keyboard, and a monitor. Well, hard drive, blah, etc.
Still, it goes to show how, a “community” does exist (here) in my heart, even when I don’t see, talk to, or touch the human being on the other end.
Thank you Ben for your finding out the horrible truth. It is better to know, than to wonder. Wondering leads to both extremes, finality being the goal.
Hugs to you, ATE. We all know how much you cared for Olygal. Such sad news…
RIP Oly taken from us too soon.
Thank you Ben for letting us know, I kept wondering, where has Oly gone, why has Oly left us. Brash, brave, unafraid. I always thought, wow, she should write a novel, such a vibrant ‘voice.’ Most of us write in black and white, she wrote in color, images and ideas busting forth.
Not just color, technicolor.
Not just technicolor, but with horns and cymbals and flower petals strewn everywhere, accompanied by dancing frogs and fireworks!
I miss her. Her posts were always a delight!
She was one of the reasons I have been lurking on this site for so many years…I will put on a tiara, something voluminous and pink, and go outside barefoot today and look up to the blue PNW sky today in her honor.
I’d go outside and dance too if my doctor would let me. I can dance in my heart though.
Dance, wolfgirl and let out a primal howl- she would approve of it heartily!!!
It’s a howl of pain and loss.
Good idea, pdxgrrrl. I have some fire crackers that didnt’ get used for a non existent New Years eve event.
I will make a festive mess in her honor today!
And my hair’s getting a bit long. I think I’ll have a few drinks, then give myself a haircut.
Mine is too AZ (middle of my back) but I think in her honor, as a big “F— You” to the developer scums, I may see if I can grow it to my a$$ (the one they can kiss!!!)
Oh, no. Miss you, OlyGal. Rest in peace, my dear.
MG
I feared something terrible had happened when she stopped posting. I appreciate the posting of her photo: her face is just as honest as her words. Condolences to all who will miss her.
Talk about being caught off guard. In reading all the responses though, one can at least take comfort in this heartfelt demonstration of just how real this little online community has become and how close it has grown over the years.
Peace Olygal. What a sparkplug! And thanks for seeing that land preservation remained part of our disocurse.
To Gayle’s family and friends, I am so sorry for the loss of such a beautiful person.
Damn, damn, damn. I miss you terribly Olygal. I felt a kinship to you gal. I will miss your funny and beautiful postings and your sense of play. Now I’m going to go out to the ocean to have myself a good cry and scream.
Gayle Broadbent-Ferris
Beloved wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend Gayle Broadbent-Ferris passed away suddenly Tuesday evening, October 27, 2009. Gayle loved all small brave creatures. She taught us to take spiders outside rather than step on them. She could reach out and make a connection with anyone, drawing them out of their shell. She had a very strong sense of justice and was never afraid to speak her mind. Gayle was an amazing artist. She loved to create using found and recycled materials. She was always exciting to be around. Every day was always the best day. Every place she explored was always the most beautiful she had seen. Gayle loved the Pacific Northwest. She loved the big trees, the water and the friends she found here. She loved going to the beach for oysters, clams and geoducks. She loved hunting for wild mushrooms. She loved gardening. She loved to find heirloom plants at old abandoned houses and plant the seeds in her garden, and distribute the seeds to friends and family.
She is greatly loved and will be missed deeply by her husband and son, Scott and Jacob Ferris, her family, and friends.
SanFranQL:
In my mind and heart, you are a special lady like Oly Gal.
Greg.
Ate-Up,
Thank you sir for the kind words. I hope you are taking good care of yourself. I know how much you cared for her.
And she cared for Ate. It was mutual, you could tell. She wanted the best for you Ate.
And Sfbay-big hugs to you!
Thanks dd. She wanted the best for all of us.
I feel the same sfbagal- only my word starts with an f, not a d… sorry, this really sucks….
Socal
Wow. Such a sad surprise. Best wishes to her family.
How terrible. I’m on the road in Florida and just stopped for a brief rest and checked in on the blog. My day is ruined. I would never have expected this, even given her mysterious absence. I’m going to go find and hug a frog. Do they have frogs in Florida?
Maybe I’ll just wander around in the woods in her honor. I hope she’s enjoying a geoduck somewhere.
bink: Yeah, Palmy and me will tell ya they got Frogs in Florida. I woke up to one setting on my kitchen counter. Cathy, a lady friend of mine, said it was my Dad.
Maybe, your Frog will be Oly Gal.
Geez bink, I’m sure there are frogs, but the x1 that the state of Florida let me play a round of golf without proof of insurance, I had the unexpected encounter with Mr. Aligator on the 4th hole water trap…becareful wandering about looking up in the heaven’s.
Terrible News. Rest in peace and God Bless.
This is so sad.
I kept waiting and hoping for her to come back. She was the most original and lively writer, a joy to read and contemplate. She was a peace-maker and she was funny, sweet, disarming and witty. I’m sure going to miss her a lot.
Peace to her and her family…
OlympiaGal was intense, sporadically posting in outbursts of energy. She looks as I imagined her, too much energy to be anything but lean. Privately it must have been hell having to live with our dysfunctional system; easy to understand why the forest offered such an escape. Now she is free having severed her mortal bonds. Blue skies!
That is good rms.
Haven’t been here for a few days, and then this.
Brings tears to my eyes and heart.
So sorry we lost, the world lost a wonderful lively person in Oly gal.
Heartfelt condolences to her family and friends.
A big hug back to you DD. I hope you are doing good.
I just realized Olygal is younger than me by a few months.
You can’t be a “cougar” and a dude, I least I don’t think so…but maybe there are male frogs that act like cougar’s, maybe I’ll switch to single malt Scotch 1972…
oooh! This is so sad. She was such a bright little sprite, making us think and laugh and poke fun at ourselves. She has been missed, she will be missed ever more.
I’m very sorry to read this news. She had such a vibrant spirit, keen wit, and strikingly colorful way of viewing things. We need a lot more people like her in the world. Rest in peace, OlyGal.
I went to her website and bookmarked it hoping it will always be there, just like her spirit.
Made me smile to look at her paper dolls.
Going to print her pages out, cut out the paper dolls and put them in an area when I need a friend.
DD,
Would you please post her web site.
Thank you.
http://www.skyglass.com/
I think HWY or someone posted it in this thread.
I went through the entire website she had since 2000 and read the insights she had on other artists, her dad, sisters and so forth.
I saved all the pages/folder. Reminds me when I used to cut/save McCall paper dolls from the McCall’s magazine. But Olygal was so much more creative- made me smile!
I am going to printout some of her paper dolls and give them to my 8 year old daughter.
She loves this kind of stuff.
I imagine Oly would have enjoyed seeing my daughter laugh when I gave her a printout of the lemon-head doll.
I did the same, and bookmarked this page for all the kind,warm, real people who post here, all of whom I would miss if anything happened to them. God bless you all !!!!!!!!
That paper doll page made me smile too…there sure was a lot of gentle little girl inside that gentle grown woman.
“She loved….she loved….she loved….”
Nothing more wonderful could be said. I am glad that she shared it with us.
A lover of odd foods, nature, the best kind of wit, a whacked-out wordsmith, a lady not afraid to toss back a few [at least that's how she wrote it!] and much more was Oly. It’s a loss that’s tough to take and my thoughts go out to her family. I hadn’t thought about her disappearance in a permanent light and figured that she just got busy.
I’m sure that some of us feel the same sadness when regular posters leave, especially those to whom we feel a kinship and those we’ve met in person, but even with one’s we don’t. Knowing that it’s a permanent departure doesn’t make this loss any easier.
She was always quick to apologize if she went over the top. She had a lot to teach and left us with still much to learn. Requiescat in pace, Oly.
Thx Mr B- you really nailed it- I shall miss her sorely…
For some reason this song came to mind:
RAINBOW CONNECTION
Kermit the Frog
Why are there so many
Songs about rainbows
And what’s on the other side
Rainbow’s are visions
They’re only illusions
And rainbows have nothing to hide
So we’ve been told and some chose to
Believe it
But I know they’re wrong wait and see
Someday we’ll find it
The Rainbow Connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me
Who said that every wish
Would be heard and answered
When wished on the morning star
Somebody thought of that
And someone believed it
And look what it’s done so far
What’s so amazing
That keeps us star gazing
What so we think we might see
Someday we’ll find it
That Rainbow Connection
The lovers the dreamers and me
Have you been half asleep
And have you heard voices
I’ve heard them calling my name
Are these the sweet sounds that called
The young sailors
I think they’re one and the same
I’ve heard it too many times to ignore it
There’s something that I’m supposed to be
Someday we’ll find it
The Rainbow Connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me
A lovely and fitting choice San Fran Girl.
I think she’d love the tribute.
Beautiful! Tankxss
Beauteous!
I love this, SFBayGirl. Thank you. It’s perfect.
Thankyou Kim for posting her memorial website. My heart was so warmed to see that in real life she was everything she was here on this site and probably moreso.
I can’t help but imagine her spirit moving among some beautiful place…ever the imp, one with all around her.
Thank you Gayle for sharing your presence w/us if even for a short while.
Hey, where’s SD REBear? Get her on the horn gal!
I just read this today. Am still in shock.
I’m writing a note to post on her Obituary Guest Book to try and show the family some inkling of what she meant to our community. There are not really words to describe her contributions here and I simply do not have the communication skills she did.
When people leave here one just sort of assumes the real world invades their time and ability to be here. Or they have gotten what they needed and have moved on. I never expected to hear this news about Olygal. I just figured one of the frogs she was found of kissing finally turned into a prince. I have to say Oly was the last person I thought vulnerable to such a common occurrence as an accident.
I am so sorry we will never get a chance to have her at an HBB meet-up to listen to her in person. She will be greatly missed.
SanFranQl:
I guess I am bein’ a lil’ of a “Girly Man” here…
However, in context, I like your song.
This is simply awful news.
There is absolutely nothing good that can come from this.
The world is a much poorer place with this loss.
That’s horrible. Very sad.
Thank you to her sister for taking the time to pass this most unfortunate news along to us.
This is sad news. She always wrote in such a creative manner.
Thanks, Olygirl. As you can see by all the posts that preceed this one (and the ones that will follow), you made a mark here and you are missed.
It’s late in the day and I just saw the heartbreaking news. It ain’t fair.
Olympiagal…
Indeed…..
Well, I got back from the salt mines and I still felt like I’d been sucker-punched in the gut. I kicked around in my empty, half-frozen garden, trying to think happy thoughts, and a little black spider ran across the sidewalk in front of me. First one I’ve seen this year, out a little early considering there’s still snow on the ground, but I admired his spirit…(No, Oly, I did Not step on him.)
I’m an Irish sloth by ancestry and inclination, and we drink our dearly departed away, and I’ve got a half-gallon of 12 year old kentucky bourbon that I’m gonna start drinking in Oly’s memory. I probably won’t finish it, but I’ll do my best. The rest of you are welcome to join me. I need the company.
“…that I’m gonna start drinking in Oly’s memory… The rest of you are welcome to join me. I need the company.”
Hurry up, I’ve been waiting…
alpha,
My Irish side of the family also would like to join you in a glass. Please pour me one and we can drink to Gayle’s memory.
Anyone know the “where-abouts” of Losty? )”
“Lost in Utarrrrrrrrrr” …Mr.Ben do you know”?
And I’ve just poured a Jamesons and Ginger Ale- a drink I think she would have approved of heartily….
I read this blog at work on my lunch hour and had to stop reading today because I didn’t want the people there to see this big tough airplane mechanic crying his eyes out- God I’ll miss your orange foppy haired head and all the drinking jokes! But don’t worry Oly- I’ll look in on Bigfoot even though he is a pain in the neck sometimes….
I’ll look for you in the skies-
Socaljettech
I’m with you tonight, alpha… Not sure what I’ll be tipping back yet, but know that I am toasting her with you.
Just wish I had some apricot ale to do it with.
Bottoms up! For the Gal!
I just read the postings from Oct 27, the day she passed. Oly posted a lot that day, and talked and joked with many of us. Her wit was as shining and fun as ever.
Jeez, what a world. Is it strange to wonder what one more (or less) post, from any of us, would have meant? (Oly would have had a good answer- I don’t.)
Bottoms up, again! To the woodland nymph!
I just popped a Bud for Oly Gal, you, everyone here, and me. It is really setting in now she is gone. I ALWAYS thought Oly would return.
Wow, this is genuinely sad news. She was a bright light on our little world here and she will be missed.
This is heartbreaking news. What touched me most about Olygal was that she always remembered little personal facts about every poster. She would often try to reach out and learn more about others. It is a wonderful trait and only very special people have it.
There are a lot of special people here, please stay safe.
I loved her posts. She was such a free-spirit. If we all could only have a bit of her traits in each one of us, the world would be much better.
Kirisdad:
I picked up on that admirable trait of Oly’s as well. It is a special gift, from God, if you will. Probably the highest compliment we can pay her.
I didn’t know what a geo-duck was till Oly Gal told me.
I miss her so, and so do we all.
Comment by Olympiagal
2009-10-23 17:21:25
“…. You’ve probably been the only person in Florida worth listening to, besides Muggy, for at least 3 years, or maybe more.
I used to not even believe we here in America HAD a Florida, becausee it sounded so crazy-like and improbable, like Pangaea or Never-Never-Land or something.”
Lol, classic OlyGal. I can’t believe I am here with my littlegal and Oly is gone. I have downloaded the paper doll and I will be sure to sit my littlegal down some day and tell her of the great, tiara-wearing, frog-loving OlyGal.
I’ll teach her to say “natchrelly” and drop commas in funny places.
I always liked her posts, even when she and I disagreed. I never expected this news, and I’m surprised by how sad it makes me feel. I will miss her posts. I did miss them, but I just figured she had found something better to do. What a tragedy.
A grave loss. Oly sparkled. And then sparkled some more. I will miss her repartee, her indomitable spirit, and what I experienced through her eyes. Bless you, Oly, and thank you for sharing yourself with us.
I am sorry I did not see this thread yesterday. Oly was, hands down, the shining star of the blog. Hearing of her death, and seeing her picture which puts a face to the many thousands of her posts I’ve read, is just heartbreaking. This is a cruel, cruel world.
Agree, Grizzly.
I just found out today because SD RE Bear just e-mailed this link (missed it somehow as the past few days were busy).
All day long, I’ve been so sad, bursting into tears from time to time. It’s funny how someone on an internet blog can have such an impact on others. This is such horribly sad news.
The blog software ate my post this morning….
I had a bad feeling about this in the back of my mind for a couple of months now. Olygal by her own humerous admission was “accident prone”. She was always talking about, for example, climbing a tree to talk to a bird, then falling and breaking her arm. The world is an unforgiving place. Please people be careful.
I had exactly the same thoughts. The way she just wasn’t around anymore without a word was unsettling. I didn’t believe that she had found a new interest or was bored with the HBB.
I still have my pics from last summer of the geoducks in Saigon. I never knew where to post them. I took the pics for her and the readers of the HBB. I know when I first saw this strange, strange clam thing that it was a geoduck. It took 2 seconds to know. There they were, first brought to my awareness by Oly.
RIP Oly.
Olygal was one of the few who would respond to my absolutely stupid Dune references. I remember her telling me one time how she dressed her dog up as a guild navigator and she acted out scenes in front of her family. I laughed my head off.
So, in that spirit, I’d like to say:”I wish I’d known Gayle better.”
Myself and a lot of others are giving moisture to the dead today.
My prayers are with her husband and her son.
A beautiful, open-hearted soul OlympiaGal was…that many of us here had a “personal” connection to her is a testament to the extent that her heart runneth over. If that was her wont, she succeeded mightily. Bravo, Gayle.
I liken to see her dancing atop a mountain peak at moonrise with elk, bears, gophers, rabbits, moose, et al, joining in on the fun.
She sure seemed to know how to live.
________________________________________________________
“I think over again my small adventures,
My fears
Those small ones that seemed so big
For all the vital things
I had to get and to reach
And yet there is only one great thing
The only thing
To live to see the great day that dawns
And the light that fills the world”
- Never Cry Wolf
eudemon,
That was beautiful. Thank you for your posting.
“Olygal was one of the few who would respond to my absolutely stupid Dune references. I remember her telling me one time how she dressed her dog up as a guild navigator and she acted out scenes in front of her family. I laughed my head”
Steve W, that was part of Oly’s gift and human magic. She loved everybody. Your references weren’t stupid at all.
We have a wide range of ages, backgrounds, experience and education on this blog. We have many very intelligent and well read people in here. Occassionally, I get left behind and sometimes have to look up or do a double take on the comments and contributions because of these gaps in my background.
I might have responded if I was familar with the Dune references but I wasn’t. I remember her responding to you.
Olygal could span those age, educational and generational gaps in a nano-second and bring everyone with a comment or contribution into the discussion in own her thoughtful and playful way. If she had a Phd…in was in People and Life.
Occassionally, someone would seriously say she was being silly, childish or off topic and this might have been true but one than once I have said that Olygal was one of the smartest people on this blog.
I STILL say that she was one of the smartest and most brilliant people on Ben’s HBB. That’s not just because of her blog disappearance and untimely death either.
She may not had a Phd in economics or something but what a brilliantly beautiful, kind and fast mind that girl had…she was truly amazing.
We won’t see the likes of Olygal again and that is our own HBB personal tagedy.
You just keep on posting and I will try to keep up!
.
Sunrise doesn’t last all morning,
a cloudburst doesn’t last all day.
Seems my love is up
and has left you with no warning.
It’s not always been this grey.
All things must pass,
all things must pass away.
Sunset doesn’t last all evening,
a mind can blow those clouds away.
after all this my love is up
and must be leaving.
It has not always been this grey.
All things must pass,
all things must pass away.
All things must pass
none of life’s strings can last.
So I must be on my way,
face another day.
Darkness only stays at nighttime,
in the morning it will fade away.
Daylight is good
at arriving at the right time.
It’s not always
will to be this grey.
All things must pass,
all things must pass away.
All things must pass,
all things must pass away.
Yahoo main page has a pic re Obama and his speech. I am apolitical. Wouldn’t listen to it or read it unless I was in jail.
Was thinking, if Oly was President, or her equivalent, this world wouldn’t be screwed up like it is.
Room full of mirrors.
I don’t know why, but something compels me to look in on this writer from time to time…lookie what I found today:
I can only wonder if our OlyGal, being from the PNW ever read any of his writings:
January 21, 2010
Seattle, Washington - January 20, 2010
IT’S NOT THE SIZE OF THE LOSS,
BUT THE SIZE OF THE SORROW.
Last Saturday - out for an early morning walk.
Heavy fog - a chilly, drippy start to a January day.
Nobody else seemed to be out and about.
So quiet . . .
Until I’m a block from the nearby park.
From somewhere close by I heard the sound of a small child crying.
But the fog was so thick I couldn’t see far enough to locate the child.
The Good Samaritan Alert goes on in my mind.
Trouble? Lost? Injured? What?
Hurrying along I found, standing on a corner, these three:
A mother, a child, and a dog.
The mother was weeping.
The child was crying.
And the dog looked so forlorn it would have been in tears - if dogs did that.
All three were in basic Seattle cold-wet-weather gear, including the dog - a yellow Labrador, wearing a yellow rain slicker over most of him.
The child was bundled up and packed down inside a high-tech baby carriage that could be used as a Mars Rover if it had a motor.
All I could see of the child’s face were its eyes, awash with tears.
As I appeared out of the fog the child was the first to speak:
“Have you seen my . . . ?”
The word was lost in a sob.
“Seen what?” I asked, thinking puppy, kitty, doll, teddy bear, father?
Blankie turns out to be the operative word.
And the child is a little girl named Nelly, about four years old.
It took awhile, but between the tearful mother and Nelly, I got this story:
Once upon a time . . . Nelly’s grandmother made a blanket just for her.
Nelly became deeply attached to the blanket, as children will.
In time, the blanket became little more than a deteriorating rag.
Last summer the dog and Nelly had a tug-of-war with the blanket.
The big dog tore off a big chunk of the blanket.
The mother did not repair the blanket, thinking it was history.
Alas, Nelly remained fully committed to both parts of the blanket.
This morning the mother has been out jogging with the Nelly-in-the-bucket.
Somewhere along the way the lesser part of the blanket went overboard.
And now, despite retracing the route three times, it cannot be found.
The mother choked up again.
Nelly lapsed into sobs again.
And the dog lay down with its face in its paws.
All three were wet, cold, and approaching hysteria or hypothermia or both.
“What does the blankie look like?” I asked
“Like that . . .” said the mother, pointing at Nelly’s wrapping.
Around Nelly’s neck and head was entwined what might be the desiccated remains of a dead python.
Lumpy, fuzzy, brown and green and red, with yellow stripes here and there.
A raggedy remnant of what once was the blanket.
A blanket now in such grim shape that you might find it in the reject dumpster out behind a recycling center.
“My blankie,“ moaned Nelly, tightly clutching the dead python.
This could be funny.
And maybe . . . someday . . . it will be.
But not now.
Not to Nelly.
Or the mother.
Not even to the dog.
As the world rates catastrophes, the missing partial blankie is small stuff.
But to Nelly . . . a major loss.
I was struck by the serious dignity of her grief.
No wailing or screaming or fit-pitching.
Just sad-eyed sorrow.
“I need my blankie. . .”
What could I say or do?
Should I explain to Nelly that the Buddha said that the attachment to things is the source of sorrow? Be not attached.
Should I say to Nelly that her situation is the glass-half-full, glass half-empty
attitude problem? Be glad you still have most of the blanket.
Should I tell Nelly that life isn’t fair and that losing a partial blankie is training for future losses in life?
Shall I elaborate about hurricanes, earthquakes, fire, thieves, and the loss of a limb or sight or parents? Could be worse.
Or maybe explain to her about the losses involved in love and friendship, when what is lost is never found again?
No. Nelly is four.
Sooner or later she’ll find out on her own, like the rest of us.
Nelly’s sorrow is still real to Nelly.
And grief is to be attended to, not judged or analyzed or dismissed.
This was not the time for the Good Samaritan to offer a sympathetic discourse to mother or child or dog on the existential realities of the human condition.
Dispassionate explanations will not help.
So I knelt down beside Nelly and said,
“I’m so sorry.
I understand.
I had this happen to me once.
It made me cry, too.
I’ll look for it.
And if I find it, I’ll make sure you get it back.”
(And to my complete surprise, when I said that, tears came to my own eyes.
I’m not sure just why.
Perhaps I was thinking of the times in my life when I wish someone had said that to me when I was grieving over a loss of my own.
Lost Blankies come in many sizes and shapes and forms.)
What I said seemed to help. Not much. But some.
Enough to set the threesome in motion again on their quest.
Blocks away I found the missing semi-blankie.
Or thought I did. Several times.
In the half light of a foggy morning, many heaps of mossy trash lodged under bushes resembled partial pythons.
The false sightings reflected my hope that I could and would find Nelly’s blankie, and be the one who returned it.
But I did not and was not.
So what’s this all about?
I’ve been asking myself that for the last few days.
My frustration in this small matter mirrors, I think, a deeper universal human wish that any one of us could make things better for all those in pain wherever, whenever, no matter how small the loss or large the sorrow.
Author Robert Fulghum
thanks Hwy- thanks so much…
That was very beautiful, Hwy. Thank you.
hwy: +1.
I am gutted and words fail me. I can only post the lyrics to this simple, beautiful song for our Olygal ! Heaven just got another beautiful star. You will be sorely missed !!
“GONE TOO SOON”
Like A Comet
Blazing ‘Cross The Evening Sky
Gone Too Soon
Like A Rainbow
Fading In The Twinkling Of An Eye
Gone Too Soon
Shiny And Sparkly
And Splendidly Bright
Here One Day
Gone One Night
Like The Loss Of Sunlight
On A Cloudy Afternoon
Gone Too Soon
Like A Castle
Built Upon A Sandy Beach
Gone Too Soon
Like A Perfect Flower
That Is Just Beyond Your Reach
Gone Too Soon
Born To Amuse, To Inspire, To Delight
Here One Day
Gone One Night
Like A Sunset
Dying With The Rising Of The Moon
Gone Too Soon
By: Michael Jackson
Weezy,
That was beautiful. Thank you for the post.
A fallen comrade in arms. Well, in ideology. I was just listening to the State of the Union speech, and they’re talking about all things financial, and various hot button issues, topics which interest me greatly. I read the news about Olympiagal and the speech completely faded into the background. I’m just hearing it again and it’s near the end. The battle goes on. I hope Olympiagal can look down, get a good chuckle, and inspire us.
My deepest condolences to her family and friends, she must have been quite a light to her companions as she was to this corner of cyberspace. Again, Godspeed Olympiagal.
I’ll raise a glass of sweet vermouth to her this weekend, and perhaps I’ll raise a gardening tool skyward this spring. Death is a part of life. Never something we are comfortable with, least when it is someone in the prime of life. We close ranks and move on. But we never forget.
Did you mean to say, “comrade in ARMs”? (Oly loved puns!)
Hah! Excellent. But I think we both were prudent enough to avoid such financial silliness
I, too, couldn’t understand why she wasn’t posting anymore. I thought, well, maybe she has gone on to a mushroom blog. It felt odd that I was even curious about a person I never met. But I so much enjoyed her talent. Where is the Olygal? What was going on?
It was a sucker punch when I found out that this incredibly fun person was no longer with us. Like alpha sloth, I read her posts from October 27th. I felt that it was perhaps a mauldin thing to do but it was OK. There were tears. Oh, my, there were tears.
She would/is so happy to know that she was such an integral part of this HBB community and that she will be missed and so wonderfully remembered. I will never look at a spider or a frog in the same way.
Very sad news. I always enjoyed her posts.
She was special. I think I only started posting the month before she died but I remember the one time she responded to one of my posts. I had never felt like I was part enough of the blog to say anything directly to her but I wanted to. When she responded to me in her endearing manner I felt very proud and happy that she had even noticed me and I thought about it a lot. I’m drinking another toast to her now along with a lot of you.
One of her last posts:
Because 93 years is a looong time to be thirsty. If I had ever decided to be righteous–which I didn’t; I’m informing you all of this, in case you weren’t aware of it—if IIII had ever decided to be righteous I would have tried to depart this mortal coil early, so I could get to heaven and finally get a decent martini.
Enjoy that martini, oly. We’ll miss you.
Really, a frog martini?,…what do I have to lose, Cheer’s OlyGal!
BWAHAHAHicHAHAHicHAHAHAHAHicHAHAHic* (DennisN™)
Rrribet, rrribetttt
Great find, bink.
I am very sad at hearing the news.
She was a great writer.
The HBB will not be the same without her.
Wow
A lot of names I haven’t seen much on this Blog. The quiet HBB’ers. Olygal brings all forward to speak or if speachless atleast acknowledge that they were touched by her. Quite an accomplishment OG, a life well lived.
RIP
Has anybody here seen my old friend Abraham?
Can you tell me where he’s gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
You know, I just looked around and he’s gone.
Anybody here seen my old friend John?
Can you tell me where he’s gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
I just looked around and he’s gone.
Anybody here seen my old friend Martin?
Can you tell me where he’s gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
I just looked ’round and he’s gone.
Didn’t you love the things that they stood for?
Didn’t they try to find some good for you and me?
And we’ll be free
Some day soon, and it’s a-gonna be one day …
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he’s gone?
I thought I saw him walk up over the hill,
With Abraham, Martin and John.
It is like having the wind knocked out of you. Afraid you are never gonna get it back. Dang it….she wrote just as she looked…..what eyes! I suspect old souls like hers go on forever. God keeps them moving as they have much to teach us.
dimedropped-
Your comment about old souls, beautifully summed up OlyGal. She would take my magenta mood, and make it yellow. Thank you for the thought.
Tragic. She was so witty. Rest in peace.
I am coming out of my lurkdom to say that I am very sad and shocked to hear this about Oly. I am crying. I haven’t been keeping up with this blog as much lately, but whenever I did read it, I would look for Oly and wonder where had gone. Olygal, you are missed greatly, and I know you are with us in spirit, you rad chic.
This is me too. I usually catch up with the blog in the evening when most posters are finished for the day. Yesterday I was up at o-dark-thirty and lost a little piece of my heart.
I just wanted to say thank you to Olygal for making my life a bit better and brighter.
It would be appropriate to do something entirely frivolous and abandoned and spontaneous in her honor. The important stuff.
Oly, oly oxen free!
Maybe it’s Conan’s fault, but all day long, I have heard Neil Young’s voice singing this song over and over again in my head. What’s worse, I slipped up and drank coffee after 3p.
A gal with a good Utarr upbringing like Oly enjoyed could appreciate the night of torment I face, with the haunting memory of her sweet spirit set against the gentle strumming of Neil Young’s guitar keeping me awake while the lingering effects of a sinful hot beverage gradually die away.
We’ve been through
some things together
With trunks of memories
still to come
We found things to do
in stormy weather
Long may you run.
Long may you run.
Long may you run.
Although these changes
have come
With your chrome heart shining
in the sun
Long may you run.
– Neil Young –
Comment by Olympiagal
2009-10-27 11:25:56
Because 93 years is a looong time to be thirsty. If I had ever decided to be righteous–which I didn’t; I’m informing you all of this, in case you weren’t aware of it—if IIII had ever decided to be righteous I would have tried to depart this mortal coil early, so I could get to heaven and finally get a decent martini.
And this, from the same day.
“…my personal plans are Reagent Grade clear and doom, death and debt slavery is not included in the mix for me. The bunker is well stocked and the pitchforks are all tuned up, metaphorically speaking, of course… All the Best in the Die Off. Good Luck.
Carpe Diem.”
I am devastated I didn’t catch this.
I did not see this thread yesterday. This is absolutely heartbreaking…ugly proof that like is not fair.
Oly gal and I sparred sometimes on this blog and agreed sometimes. I enjoyed her wit. I think we agreed on conservation. I am shocked that this happened to her. I will certainly contribute to her environmental cause now.
“Oly gal and I sparred sometimes on this blog and agreed sometimes. I enjoyed her wit. I think we agreed on conservation. I am shocked that this happened to her. I will certainly contribute to her environmental cause now”
Bill in Los Angeles
I don’t think you and Olygal really “sparred”. I prefer the word teased because I did it with her too…no need for any regrets as we all tease each other a little in here.
She really liked you and I know she would want you to always enjoy your life…and hers.
You were her friend too. Thanks for mentioning her love of the environment.
Just sayin’
A talented writer and she left all her HBB posts me to re-read. I remember an HBB search string to access all posts by a particular blogger’s name. It was easier than using discrete google search terms, but I can’t remember the specifics other than it used percent signs before/after name.
I just came across this terrible news. I just told my wife the news. She responded that I “e-loved” Oly. I would frequently show my wife and friends her writings. Yes I did love her wit and non-conforming attitude towards most things. I hope it was painless.
Bye Oly
So passes a rare spirit. As others have said, I knew something was wrong. There was no way she simply would have disappeared. And like Steve said above (Steve, I got your Dune references too!) today we will give moisture to the dead. RIP OLYGAL, I will raise a toast in your memory.
Stars End
Ah..she was one of my favorite posters. Loved her whimsical style..you’ll be missed Olympiagal.
Wow, sad news
Condolences to her family and friends. She is missed.
Dear Oly-
I recall once when I took issue with you when it appeared, to me, you were delighting in the misfortune of some FB’s. I am sorry. Please forgive me. You were a gardener, as am I, and though I never met you I had always hoped our paths would cross in such circles. We lived a mere 40 miles from each other, and it seemed plausible. I had always wanted to share with you some cuttings from my Hydrangeas, and a few other rarities, which I know you would have appreciated, and I now kick myself for not doing. As it turns out, we were born only a few weeks apart- same month and year. You were a tremendously smart, talented, and good person, and the world is worse off with your loss. Bless you and your family.
My heart goes out to Oly’s husband and son. They have a spiritual crater the size of Upheaval Dome to live with.
She may be Tango Uniform now but the Web snagged some of her glittery tinsle spirit as she passed through. As long as the google wind blows it’ll sparkle and almost look alive.
I always envisioned Oly much older than 40, don’t know why…perhaps the “old soul” as mentioned above. Sorry to hear she wasn’t “much older” …Gone Too Soon. She was an inspiration to us all. RIP Oly and we’ll all tip back a good martini, or whatever the poison, in your honor. Will miss you. xoxo
This is terrible.
I haven’t checked the blog for a while, and this is what I find. Shocking.
I remember people were worried when Oly disappeared, but I figured her life got busy, not this.
So sorry to hear this… Condolences to her family.
Very sad.
Aw, geez. I’m speechless and sorry I’ve been off the blog the last few days. As one of the few (the only?) HBBers to have met Gayle, I consider myself to be blessed to have seen her wit, charm, beauty, intelligence and generosity in person. I never would have guessed this was the reality. It makes no sense. I’ve been wrong now twice in my life about a lively friend whose voice has gone silent, giving the benefit of the doubt to the possibility that perhaps they just needed some time away.
In the few minutes I got to spend with Oly, she made me realize that my curmudgeonly ways just don’t cut it. For that I’m grateful, as being fair and honest and living life to the fullest is immeasurable in its reward as the HBB sentiments here would attest.
Even after explaining what I do for a living, I still think she thought I was a developer.
I will never look at a tater tot the same way, nor a Santa adorned oyster, should I happen upon one. Thanks for the oysters Gayle and for being you. Soon I will raise a Hammerhead and a tot. My sincerest condolences to those closest to Gayle.
*falls off chair laughing thinking of Oly trying to force tater tots on me*
Hi sleepless,
As you have read, this sad news really stunned us all.
Your Oyster in the Santa hat and the tator tot visit is part of the Olygal PNW legend. She was so excited, thrilled and happy over it. We all loved the story and had fun with her about it.
You are the only person that I know of that did meet both our Olygal and the real Gayle at the same time. That is something special. It really meant a lot to her to meet one of the HBB gang in person.
Thanks so much for making the effort to visit her, making her happy and allowing you and her to share that great story with all of us.
Whoa… Such a sad day for me.
I’m planting a oak tree today in her honor. To the rest of us that must carry on in this crazy world without her we will miss her wit and charm and we are so much poorer for it.
Adios
Did anyone find out exactly how she died?
She looked like she could have lived another 40 years.
Wow! This is just terrible. She was a true treasure to this blog, and I am sure to all of those that knew her.
Sad. She was serious–and fun.
I am a long long time lurker and very unfrequent poster… Olygal was a HBB institution and I loved her posts. I am truely shocked at how powerfully affected I am by this news… it’s like a family member is gone.
Best wishes to her family, I hope they realize how far and how many she reached.
I feel the same way…
Dear albakes: You’re right and I agree. I am having a rough time with it.
Thank you for sharing.
Greg
How sad. She has been and will continue to be missed!
My condolences to her family, this is a big loss to all of us. Her kid(s?) can’t be too old - must be a terrible time for them.
There is an Olygal-sized hole in the world. In her honor, I will go fill the world so that there will be a huge Happy2bHeard-sized hole in the world when I leave. Pass it on.
I love this from her Missing Night story: “Everybody knows that stars count you, when they see you, and if you aren’t seen and counted? Why then, you fade. The shape you helped form, the precious constellation, it becomes valueless and drifts away, unmarked.
No one can navigate by you, without a night.”
If tears could build a stairwayand memories were a lane
We would walk right up to heaven
And bring you back again.
No farewell words were spoken
No time to say goodbye
You were gone before we knew it
And only God knows why
Our hearts still ache in sadness and secret tears still flow
What it meant to lose you
No one will ever know
But now we know you want us
To mourn for you no more
To remember all the happy times
Life still has much in store
Since you’ll never be forgotten
We pledge to you today
A cherished place within our heart
Is where you’ll always stay
Gob bless
Bye bye little sprite!
Haven’t posted here in years but am a loyal, daily lurker. I cried when I heard the news and feel like a very close friend has gone. I can’t imagine the loss for those who actually knew this very special person. Oly, I regret not knowing you.
I have really been messed up for a number of days now over this death . I drove by a spot in the road where they had a picture of a 12 year old that died in a car accident . Oly was so alive and this was reflected in her posts.
So many messages from her . I am going to go back to her posts and reflect .
Oly, I saw a beautiful Redtail hawk in the redrock in early November, it swooped right over me and a feather floated down. It brought a sense of poignancy and love of nature with it, I think now that maybe it was you.
Today I’ll burn a small strand of sagebrush in your honor and have my Navajo friend sing the Navajo Beautyway.
May you always walk in beauty, wherever you are, Lassie.
Love, Chinle (Lost in Utah)
PS I kept that feather, it’s in the band of my straw cowboy hat.
Hi Losty
Lostie,
One big hug to you.
’bout time girl…
sad sad news. rest in peace olygal. i loved your posts and effervescence. how you affected all of us even through the comment section of a blog is a testament to your strength.
Tragic news!
I’m also an infrequent poster (mostly a lurker) but a long-time regular reader.
I too noticed her absence and wondered where she went. I missed reading her great contributions.
Condolences to everyone who loved her…..
I’m pretty broken up about this. Olygal was a brilliant and fun writer. As a nearly 5 year reader and occasional poster, I will miss her entries greatly. I figured something was terribly wrong when she stopped posting, as she had no enemies here and didn’t seem to have a reason to stop posting. Olygal, thanks for the posts over the years. You truly brought sunshine into our lives.May you rest in peace. You will be missed and I’m sorry I never had the chance to meet you in person. Condolences to your family and friends.
remember when she announced that she painted herself blue on election eve?
As one of the old original posters on this blog, I’m certainly sorry to learn this news. Very sad indeed.
John
How is it possible to feel so broken-hearted over someone you never even met in person?
I wanted to meet her. She came across in her writing as an irresistible force of nature. If I ever made it to the Pacific NW for any reason, I was determined to look her up. Maybe go kayaking, or hunt geoducks together.
Olygal was such a bright, effervescent personality on this blog. Her posts gave me a vivid picture of a woodland sprite / sea nymph who loved life deeply and well.
My deepest condolences to her family, her real-life friends, and to all here at the HBB who appreciated her spirit.
I am a lurker.
I have never commented on anything I’ve read on the Housing Bubble Blog though I have read it faithfully, albeit a few days late, since 2007. I never felt I had anything to add to the wonderful commentary. I have learned so much from all of you over these years, some things related to housing, some not so much.
Of all the wonderful, smart, literate and funny posters here, Olympiagal was my absolute favorite. I was always floored and humbled by her gift, her talent, and most of all her irreverent, goofy, this-is-me-whether-you-like-it-or-not attitude. I wish I had known her IRL. I wish I had even a little bit of her liveliness. I now wish I had, like many of you, at least had the chance to correspond with her.
For Oly, there is one more thing I would like to add to the heartfelt wishes and condolences here. I wish I had written it, but it reads like it was meant for her.
Dirge Without Music
I am not resigned to the shutting away of loving hearts in the hard ground.
So it is, and so it will be, for so it has been, time out of mind.
Into the darkness they go, the wise and the lovely. Crowned
With lilies and with laurel they go; but I am not resigned.
Lovers and thinkers, into the earth with you.
Be one with the dull, the indiscriminate dust.
A fragment of what you felt, of what you knew,
A formula, a phrase remains, - but the best is lost.
The answers quick and keen, the honest look, the laughter, the love, -
They are gone. They are gone to feed the roses. Elegant and curled
Is the blossom. Fragrant is the blossom. I know. But I do not approve.
More precious was the light in your eyes than all the roses in the world.
Down, down, down into the darkness of the grave
Gently they go, the beautiful, the tender, the kind.
Quietly they go, the intelligent, the witty, the brave.
I know. But I do not approve. And I am not resigned.
Edna St. Vincent Millay
A brief light has one out by mishap. A wonderful child in adult’s garb has vanished. So long Oly, I hope your spirit is soaring.
I’m a long-time lurker, seldom poster. The last year has been very busy for me. I have not been able to visit the blog as much as I’ve liked, but on the rare times I was able to, I always loved to see what Oly had to say. Over the last couple of months, I caught the occasional reference to her MIA and wondered as well what may have happened. I stopped by tonight for a quick breeze through and saw Ben’s post. The last hour was spent in equal laughter and tears remembering someone I never met in life or even directly talked to, online. I’m so grateful that her website is still up because it is an additional piece of her that I can treasure when I’m feeling hopeless. My heartfelt condolences to her husband, child, family, and all of you who had the opportunity to get to know her. Fly Free, Olympia Gal!!
Only the Phoenix rises and does not descend.
And everything changes.
And nothing is truly lost.
-Neil Gaiman (The Wake)
It’s funny how I’ve never met any of you on this blog, but I feel closer to you through a meeting of the minds than many people I actually know in flesh and blood. Olygal was sunshine, rain and fairy elves dancing in the shadow of a valiant geoduck. What a loss! God bless you all. You have touched my life.